DeNOOYER+v.+Livonia+Public+Schools

Posted by: Hannah Dyal

 Kelly E. DeNOOYER, by Next Friend Ilene DeNOOYER and Ilene DeNooyer, Plaintiffs, v. LIVONIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS, et al., Defendants.  No. 91-72963.  United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, S.D.  July 30, 1992

Background: A second grade student, Kelly DeNooyer, was denied the right to bring in a video tape of her singing a song in church for V.I.P. week, or show and tell. According to the teacher, she wanted the presentation to be verbal in order to boost the self-esteem and public speaking abilities of her students. The teacher also denied the request to prevent the precedent of allowing students to bring videos, which have to be previewed before showing to the class. The school also had concerns about the religious nature of the song.

Decision and Rationale: The court stated that the plaintiff could not bring in the video and her rights were not violated by the school district. According to //Hazelton School District v. Kuhlmeier,// schools are allowed to limit speech of students as long as there are legitimate pedagogical concerns.

Impact on Teaching: Teachers are allowed to limit the speech and expression of students if there are concerns about discrimination or offensiveness. As teachers, we have to remember that everyone is different and may not have the same views. To avoid confusion in the classroom, a screening process must be used for all outside things that are brought into the classroom.

Question: True/False Teachers cannot place limits on the items students bring into their classroom for presentation. ---  Posted by: Randall McCarty    Kelly E. DeNOOYER, by Next Friend Ilene DeNOOYER and Ilene DeNooyer, Plaintiffs, v. LIVONIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS, et al., Defendants. No. 91-72963.    United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, S.D.     July 30, 1992.  ** Background ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Livonia Public Schools System teacher, Sandra Solomon, denied a second grade student’s, Ilene DeNooyer, request to show a video during show-and-tell. The video was of Ilene singing at her local Baptist church a song about a religious commitment. Solomon’s reasons for not allowing the video to be shown was the video did not comply with what was supposed to be an oral presentation and she did not want other students to do the same causing her more work of having to review each video before it was shown to the class. Kelly DeNooyer, Ilene’s mother, filed a suit against the Livonia Public Schools and certain school officials citing violations of their Constitutional rights to freedom of speech, free exercise of religion, equal protection, freedom of association, and the liberty interest of a parent to educate her child. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Decision and Rationale **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The DeNooyer’s claims of violations were found not having any material evidenced that their rights had been infringed upon. Each violation cited had been carefully viewed and nullified. The school system was declared not at fault for their actions and the court ruled Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment is denied and Defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Implications ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Teachers must be careful when dealing with issues of religion in regards to what students are allowed to do and not do. It is important to follow the rules and guidelines established by the school system while also deferring to administration in such instances. In addition, if teachers clearly and forthrightly set up their expectations and requirements for projects and assignments then it provides a teacher with clout as to why a student is allowed or not allowed to present certain work. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Question: True/False: The Livonia Public School teacher Sandra Solomon was violating Ilene DeNooyer’s constitutional right to freedom of speech when she denied her request to play a proselytizing video.